Last week, I graphed this data on a log scale but here it is on a standard linear scale which emphasises the exponential growth of housing prices before inflation. This behavior, along with bubbles in the market, makes residential housing look like a better long-term investment than it is. While a house is often the largest "investment" most people will ever make it is often a form forced savings combined with a hedge against inflation and when inflation is high your house value will often increase while your mortgage does not. Enjoy

I am revising a graph from 2010 focusing on national housing prices back to 1890. Data is originally from Robert Shiller's book Irrational Exuberance and is updated on his website. Exponential data like this often needs a log scale to show the changes across different decades, however, I am created a companion graph to show the same data on a linear scale. Look for it next week!